COUNCIL APPROVE TWO KEY STRATEGIC DOCUMENTS
The George Municipality is pleased to announce that, on 29 May 2023, Council approved the new Spatial Development Framework and the Amended Integrated Development Plan 2022 – 2027. These are two of the most important plans for the future development of George.
The Integrated Development Plan (IDP) is a document that outlines the long-term vision, goals, and strategies for the development of the city. It is the roadmap for decision-making and resource allocation for the next five years. The IDP covers a wide range of areas, including infrastructure development, housing, transportation, education, healthcare, and environmental management. It sets goals and targets for each area and identifies the actions and projects needed to achieve them.
The Spatial Development Framework (SDF) is the primary planning tool that focuses specifically on the spatial or physical aspects of development. It is a spatial representation of what the IDP seeks to do. The SDF provides a framework for organizing and guiding the spatial arrangement of land uses, infrastructure, and other elements in the city. The SDF also considers the relationship between different areas and how they interact with each other. It looks at issues like transformation, accessibility, connectivity, and the efficient use of resources.
Overall, the IDP and SDF work together to ensure that development is coordinated, sustainable and meets the needs of the community. The IDP sets the overall goals and strategies, while the SDF provides a spatial framework for implementing those goals in a way that optimizes land use and promotes a well-planned, functional, and attractive urban or rural environment.
Both plans, with their many annexures and supporting documents, have been through public participation processes and assessed by Provincial Government and National Treasury. In both instances, the municipality was congratulated on the excellent work.
Cllr Dirk Wessels, the MMC for Planning, commended the planning and performance management officials of the municipality. “More often than not municipalities make use of consultants to develop these plans. This comes at a great financial cost. However, in George, the IDP and SDF were developed completely in-house by our highly skilled staff. I would like to thank my colleagues for their commitment and hard work to ensure that we have a planning foundation that is sound, pragmatic, and transformative. The results are proof of the excellent staff we have in George Municipality.”
The Director for Human Settlements, Planning and Development, and Properties, Ms Lauren Waring said that besides the cost factor, developing strategies internally was advantageous for several reasons, including internal teams having first-hand knowledge of the complexities of the organisation and the community it serves; internal teams have a long term investment in developing effective strategies; and developing strategies internally promotes a culture of continuous learning within the organisation.
She said: “When employees are involved in the strategy development process, we feel valued, empowered, and motivated to contribute to the organization’s success. This participatory approach encourages collaboration, communication, and a shared sense of purpose, resulting in better implementation and execution of strategies. I am very proud of the work that has been approved by Council.”
Ends.
CAPTION FOR PHOTO 1
Front row from left: Lauren Waring (Director: Human Settlements, Planning and Development and Property Management) Ald Leon van Wyk (Executive Mayor of George) and Cllr Dirk Wessels, (Portfolio Councillor for Finance, Planning and Strategic Services with one of the approved documents).
Second row from left: Dr Kosie Haarhoff, (Deputy Director: Strategic Growth and Development) Siphokazi Maku (Senior Clerk: Ward Committees), Delia Power (Deputy Director: Planning and Environment), Michelle Lee (GIS Spatial Intern), Paulina Saaiman (Administrative Officer: Ward Committees) and Whitney Prins (Manager: IDP, PMS and Public Participation).
Back row from left: Nathi Timakwe (Spatial Planning Intern), Lynette Groenewald (Senior Spatial Planner), Henko Lourens (Spatial Planner), Corlize Bester (Principal Technician GIS Planning) and Ronel Le Fleur-Valla (Principal Clerk: IDP)